Refrigerator Oats

If you follow me on Twitter, or Facebook (why aren't you?) then you may have seen me blathering a lot lately about refrigerator oats.  I was introduced to this convenient breakfast food by the fabulous Emily Levenson (I get lots of recipe inspiration from her!).  I am a little late to the party but this week I finally tried making them, and folks, my life is changed.

I started out using Emily's chocolate peanut butter oat recipe.  I made a large double batch in a glass bowl with a lid.  The next morning, my husband and I both tried it, and were quite happy with how delicious it turned out.

Immediately, I made two more varieties of my own creation, Mexican Hot Chocolate and Chocolate Covered Strawberry.  I used plastic containers with lids.  These were... ok.  I was using Splenda as my sweetener, and I felt like it made them bitter.  Also, the plastic containers did not seem to chill as well, and the oats were a little rubbery.

Mexican Hot Chocolate on left, Chocolate Covered Strawberry on right

I went out and got glass jars, and attempted two more flavors, Blueberry and Almond Joy.  These are both winners!  Last night I made Pumpkin, and again, a winner.

Blueberry on bottom, Almond Joy on top

By making individual servings, these are super convenient and easy to establish portion control.  You have no reason to skip breakfast.  These leaving me fully satisfied for hours, and typically are under 300 calories (depending on the flavor).  They are cost effective, promote cholesterol reduction, and best of all, fully customizable.  I make several day's worth in advance, so my husband and I can chose from a few different flavors.

The basic recipe I am using is as follows:

Basic Refrigerator Oats
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup milk (I use almond coconut)
sweetener of choice (I am currently using 1 tsp Sugar in the Raw, other options include Stevia, Agave, Xylitol, Monk Fruit, Honey, really whatever sweetener you like, to whatever degree of sweetness)
3/4 tsp flax seed (you can change amount, eliminate, or also use chia seeds)

Mix ingredients in glass jar, cover, and refrigerate overnight.  You can either eat these cold or let them come up to room temperature.

Already, you can see that the basic recipe has lots of room for customization.  You can use whatever type of milk or sweetener you want, and the flax or chia seeds are quite optional.  Some people add Greek yogurt as well, but I have not tried it.

In terms of the different flavors, the possibilities are endless.  You simply add flavor ingredients right into the jar before mixing.

Almond Joy
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp coconut
1 tbsp almonds

Blueberry
1/3 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Pumpkin
1 tbsp pumpkin butter or pumpkin puree
optional additional flavoring of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

Other flavors I am considering are peach, maple brown sugar, apple cinnamon, and cranberry.  What flavors do you think I should make?